cap-and-trade

On July 3^rd, Premier Ford confirmed that as a first order of business, the new Cabinet revoked “Ontario Regulation 144/16: The Cap and Trade Program” and prohibited the trading of emission allowances and credits effective immediately.  The cap & trade auctions come to an end and the government will begin the process of winding-up all programs funded by the cap and trade auction revenues.  It is our understanding that all related Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP) initiatives are effectively on hold until further notice.  As noted in the government news release, the continuation of specific initiatives currently supported by cap and trade revenue will be made on a case-by-case basis in alignment with the government’s upcoming value-for-money audit. .  Additional information can be found in the news release below. 

The OWMA highlighted several concerns with the provincial government’s proposed Landfill Gas Offset Protocol in a recent submission, which was developed with the help of the association’s Climate Change Committee.

The OWMA has continued to advocate on behalf of our members to open up offset crediting options to more landfills under the Landfill Gas Offset Protocol. Our submission, which was sent to the provincial government on June 18, emphasized the potential for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by enhancing existing landfill-gas capture systems at large landfill sites.

Unfortunately, the protocol excludes landfills larger than 1.5 million cubic metres from generating offsets. The rationale given for this decision is that they are already required to capture and destroy landfill-gas under Regulation 232/98. As a result, landfill-gas capture projects at these sites would not achieve a voluntary reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in addition to what is already required under Ontario’s current regulations.

The OWMA pointed out in its submission that Regulation 232/98 does not mandate performance standards for landfill-gas capture systems. If the protocol allowed large landfills to generate offset credits for system enhancements, significant emissions reductions could be achieved, according to our research. Unfortunately, it appears as though the provincial government will not make any further changes to the Landfill Gas Offset Protocol.

The OWMA will continue to represent the priorities of the sector as the government rolls out new policies and programs under its Climate Change Action Plan while looking to potential opportunities to develop incentives for renewable natural gas through an anaerobic digestion offset protocol and a renewable fuel standard. (Read the OWMA’s submission on the government’s Discussion Paper: Developing a Modern Renewable Fuel Standard for Gasoline in Ontario.)

If you have any questions about the OWMA’s submissions or next steps on climate change, please contact the office at (905) 791-9500.

This study was commissioned by the OWMA with the support of Canada's National Brewers, the Region of Peel, the City of Toronto, the Region of Waterloo, the City of London, the Regional Municipality of Durham, the Regional Municipality York, and the Regional Municipality of Niagara. GHD notes that this Report is intended to accompany "Greenhouse Gas Emissions and the Ontario Waste Management Industry" white paper report completed by Torrie Smith Associates, Sonnevera International Corp., and Kelleher Environmental, as well as provide more specific and detailed information related to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the Ontario waste management sector.

The results of Ontario’s third (3^rd) Cap and Trade auction (held September 6th, 2017) point to another very successful auction with 100% of the available 2017 vintage allowances being purchased, and more from the 2020 vintage allowances.

GHG allowance auctions take place on a quarterly basis. The first year of this compliance period (2017-2020) is Ontario only - Ontario intends to join California and Quebec for joint auctions and market activity in 2018.

In addition, please note the list of registered participants in Ontario’s cap and trade program has been updated. The list can be found here. This is a list of all the capped and market participants that are registered in Ontario’s Cap and Trade Program and have accounts in the Compliance Instrument Tracking System Service (CITSS), as of September, 2017.The purpose of this list is to facilitate both market activity and compliance with program requirements, and enhance the accountability and transparency of Ontario’s cap and trade program.